In-Person and Livestreamed Sessions; Workshops
Sarah Day
Three Flags, One Family, Researching Ancestors Across Northern New Spain, Mexico, and the Republic of Texas – Before Texas became a United States state, it had a few jurisdictions. Understanding these jurisdictions and the laws governing them with the records available will help researchers better understand how to find records and build their family stories.
- Friday, November 6, 2026, 9:00 am – 10:00 am
- Tracks: Records and Resources, Methodology | Levels: Intermediate
Sarah Day, AG®, is a professional genealogist, researcher, and presenter. She received her accreditation from ICAPGen in the U.S. Southwest region and holds a bachelor’s degree in Genealogy-Family History from Brigham Young University. Sarah specializes in United States research, particularly the Colonial era and African American research, with additional experience in DNA and research in Europe and South America. She has presented at numerous genealogical conferences, including RootsTech for the past five years, and currently serves on the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Board of Directors. She contributes to the DPAA Repatriation Project and the Century of Black Mormons Project.
Debbie Gurtler
Migration Patterns and Strategies: From Mexico to Texas – Did Your ancestor come up from Mexico into Texas? This presentation will discuss some common migration patterns for Mexicans crossing into Texas. Key strategies for tracing your Mexican ancestor back to his or her hometown in Mexico will also be covered.
- Friday, November 6, 2026, 10:15 am – 11:15 am
- Track(s): Migration, Methodology | Levels: Intermediate
, graduated with honors from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Family History. She has made research trips to Spain, Portugal, Virginia, and North Carolina, and is fluent in Spanish, with additional ability to read genealogical documents in Portuguese, Italian, and French. Debbie holds five AG® credentials, covering the U.S. Mid-South region, Spain, Mexico, Chile, and Portugal.
Kelvin L. Meyers, FTxSGS
Apprenticeships, Indentures, and Binding Out –Many children in early America were apprenticed by their parents to learn a trade. Poor, illegitimate or orphaned children were indentured or bound out by local legal authority.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026, 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
- Track(s): Methodology | Levels: All Levels
Kelvin L. Meyers, a fifth-generation Texan, has been a professional forensic genealogist since 1996 and is a frequent speaker to genealogical societies and family associations throughout the United States. He works with attorneys, trust officers, and mineral companies researching and locating heirs worldwide, and specializes in southern brick-wall problems. Kelvin published Research in Texas for the National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States series and wrote the chapter “Mineral Interest and the Forensic Genealogist” for Forensic Genealogy Theory and Practice. He received the Dallas Genealogical Society’s Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Distinguished Service Award in 2018, was named a Fellow of the Texas State Genealogical Society in 2023, and is the immediate past director of the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research (TIGR).
Laurel Neuman
Documenting Identity through Land Records: An Archival Study of African American Preemption Land Grant Claims, 1870-1900 – This session spotlights an overlooked 1870s land grant program that empowered Black Texans to claim homestead land grants. By triangulating data from GLO files, census records, and other collections, this on-going research has identified more than 500 Black preemption claimants. The presentation outlines historical background, research methods, key findings, and practical guidance for working across diverse historical data sets.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026, 10:15 am – 11:15 am
- Tracks: Methodology, Skill Building | Levels: All levels
Laurel Neuman is a Research Specialist at the Texas General Land Office. A graduate of Texas State University-San Marcos with a B.A. in History, she has devoted nearly twenty years to exploring the stories preserved at the GLO and is recognized as a trusted source of knowledge on Texas land records and GLO history. In the GLO Archives, Laurel assists patrons with reference inquiries and leads tours highlighting the richness of the agency’s collection, working to make its records accessible and meaningful for anyone exploring their Texas heritage.
Katy Rowe-Schurwanz
The Match Game: Strategies to Identify Unknown Family Finder Matches – Discover how to maximize the tools offered by FamilyTreeDNA to identify connections with your Family Finder matches. Beyond the platform’s native features, this session dives into helpful third-party tools that streamline your research. Strategies are designed to help researchers at any level make new connections, validate existing documentation, and grow their family trees.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026, 9:00 am – 10:00 am
- Tracks: DNA | Levels : All
Katy Rowe-Schurwanz has always loved stories. Growing up, her maternal grandparents told her tales of their family history, inspiring her to become a genealogist like her grandfather. After studying creative writing, history, and anthropology at Southern Methodist University, she joined FamilyTreeDNA in 2015. As the Trainer for Customer Support, Katy created educational materials for coworkers and was fundamental in the creation of the Big Y Specialist team. Since September 2021, as Product Owner, Katy has been a customer advocate for the improvement of FamilyTreeDNA’s tests, tools, and features to help customers discover their ancestral past and break more brick walls. Katy uses her passion to improve FamilyTreeDNA’s genetic genealogy products so that everyone can discover their family story.
Michelle L. Spencer
One Horse Town, One Tough Search: Small-Town Research Strategies for Texas Ancestors – Your ancestor settled in a Texas one-horse town and left you riding in circles on a dry creek bed. This session saddles up with practical strategies for small-town research: locating Texas-specific newspapers, county histories, ghost town records, and digital collections to find your kin when the trail runs cold.
- Friday, November 6, 2026, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Track(s): Methodology | Level(s): All levels
Michelle L. Spencer, owner of RomaMaryGrace Historical Research, is a historian and professional genealogist specializing in family business research, small towns, and historic preservation. With more than 30 years of experience, Michelle has lectured at major genealogical institutions and the WWI Museum & Memorial in Kansas City. She has co-authored more than 60 National Register of Historic Places nominations, and her work has appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? and Finding Your Roots. Find her at romamarygrace.com or on YouTube @romamarygrace1909.
Larry Thomas
Correlation Strategies for Complex Genealogical Problems – Complex genealogical problems require more than isolated documents. This session teaches systematic correlation techniques, including timelines, geographic clustering, tax sequencing, and record layering, to reveal patterns and relationships not immediately apparent. Participants learn structured analysis methods aligned with the Genealogical Proof Standard.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026 – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Track(s): Skill Building, Methodology | Levels: Intermediate
Larry W. Thomas is a professional genealogist and national speaker specializing in evidence analysis, proof arguments, and courthouse-based research. He teaches researchers how to construct defensible conclusions when direct evidence does not exist, with particular emphasis on land, probate, tax, and court records. Larry began researching his own Thomas family over 30 years ago. His practice frequently focuses on complex lineage problems, indirect evidence, and record-loss challenges common in Southern research. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Maintenance Management, an MBA in Management Information Systems, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He is a graduate of ProGen 38 and currently serves as President of the international Genealogical Speakers Guild. Larry is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the Georgia Genealogical Society.
Rachel Trotter
Turn Your Research Into a Great Story – Oftentimes those who research feel they can’t write and those who write feel they can’t research. This class will marry the two together to help you use your research to create beautiful stories and to help the classic storyteller do great research.
- Friday, November 6, 2026 – 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
- Track(s): Writing and Storytelling, Organization | Level(s): Beginner
Rachel Trotter has been telling stories since she could walk and talk, and today she helps people tell and write their own family life stories through her work with Evalogue.Life. Before that, she worked as a newspaper reporter for 17 years at Ogden’s The Standard-Examiner. A graduate of Weber State University, Rachel has had articles featured on LDSLiving.com, lds.org, FamilySearch.org, and Meridian Magazine, and has spoken at RootsTech, the Weber State University Family History Conference, the Conference on Family History at BYU, and the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. She has written six family life stories, with several more in production, and has helped many others write their own.
Randy Whited
Artificial Intelligence Overview for Genealogists: Terms, Tools, and Embedded Apps – This session begins with AI terminology and explores how AI is being embedded into major genealogy platforms to enhance research efficiency.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026 – 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- Track(s): AI, Skill Building | Level(s): Beginner, Intermediate
Randy Whited is a professional genealogist with more than thirty years of research experience. With a background in the natural sciences, he has also had a career in information technology and business intelligence.
Ari Wilkins, FTxSGS
Maps! Maps! Maps! – Learn about the variety and fundamentals of maps, and how they can complement your research.
- Friday, November 6, 2026 – 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- Track(s): Records & Resources, Mapping | Level(s): All levels
Ari Wilkins, FTxSGS, is a genealogist, lecturer, and instructor who has been researching family history for more than twenty-five years. A graduate of Louisiana State University, she speaks on a variety of genealogical subjects and specializes in African American and Southern research. Ari has spoken nationally at the National Genealogical Society, the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, RootsTech, and numerous state and local societies, and has led the African American research course for the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research for the past three years. She previously served on the boards of the Dallas Genealogical Society and the Texas State Genealogical Society and has served on numerous National Genealogical Society committees.
Workshops (Optional)
Linda Debe
Google My Maps: Visualizing Your Ancestors’ Lives – Learn how Google My Maps helps genealogists visualize ancestral lives. This workshop teaches mapping migration routes, cemetery locations, research trips, and historical records. Participants will create and organize layers, customize pins with details and media, analyze patterns, and share interactive maps, transforming genealogical data into engaging visual stories.
- Friday, November 6, 2026 – 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
- Track(s): Technology, Mapping | Level(s): All levels
Linda Debe is a lecturer, published writer, and lifelong student with 35 years of genealogy research experience. She holds an AAS in Electronics Technology from the U.S. Air Force, is enrolled in ProGen 54, and studies at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Linda volunteers as VGA’s technology coordinator for its annual conference and created a free genealogy events calendar (thesleeplessgenealogist.com/calendar) listing organizations’ free and fee-based programming for all levels. Microsoft Office certified in Access and Excel, she builds automated spreadsheets to support genealogy research and is known to friends as “The Sleepless Genealogist.”
Kelvin L. Meyers, FTxSGS
From Probate to Equity and Back – When we allow the records to “talk” to us, we learn many things about our ancestors. We learn about family relationships, the social status of the family, and prove marriages without marriage records.
- Friday, November 6, 2026 – 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Track(s): Records and Resources, Skill Building | Level(s): Intemediate
Kelvin L. Meyers, a fifth-generation Texan, has been a professional forensic genealogist since 1996 and is a frequent speaker to genealogical societies and family associations throughout the United States. He works with attorneys, trust officers, and mineral companies researching and locating heirs worldwide, and specializes in southern brick-wall problems. Kelvin published Research in Texas for the National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States series and wrote the chapter “Mineral Interest and the Forensic Genealogist” for Forensic Genealogy Theory and Practice. He received the Dallas Genealogical Society’s Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Distinguished Service Award in 2018, was named a Fellow of the Texas State Genealogical Society in 2023, and is the immediate past director of the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research (TIGR).
Tina LaFreniere
Connecting Faces Through Time – This is a two session class. The first part focuses on the basics of facial recognition through photo preparation with examples. The second part covers the workings of Related Faces website to include the new Family Search integration and finishes with several examples including handling panorama photos.
- Saturday, November 7, 2026 – 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Track(s): Technology | Level(s): All levels
Tina LaFreniere is the founder and CEO of Related Faces Technologies. She began her genealogical journey more than 17 years ago, inheriting thousands of family photos, hundreds without identification — the inspiration for Related Faces, which holds two U.S. patents for using facial recognition for genealogical purposes and is a FamilySearch Compatible Solutions Provider. Tina is a board member of the Comal County Genealogical Society of Texas and a member of the National Genealogical Society and several other genealogical societies across the U.S.
Details on pre-recorded speakers and topics will be available by August 1.